Convertible desk for language teaching and the like



Oct. 12, 1965 R. s. LEVY ETAL 3,211,506

CONVERTIBLE DESK FOR LANGUAGE TEACHING AND THE LIKE Filed Aug. 3, 1962 2Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. R/CHAZD 5. LEVY and ALFRED A GREENBEPG Oct. 12,1965 R. s. LEVY ETAL 3,211,506

CONVERTIBLE DESK FOR LANGUAGE TEACHING AND THE LIKE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2Filed Aug. 3, 1962 INVENTOR.

E/CHAED 5. LEVY and AL FEED ,4, GREEK/BE E6 A T TOENE Y5 United StatesPatent Filed Aug. 3, 1962, Ser. No. 214,573 6 Claims. '(Cl. 312-239)This invention relates generally to the furniture art, and morespecifically to a new and useful convertible desk for language teachingand the like.

The desk of this invention is designed to provide an effectiveenvironment for listen-respond and listen-respond-record languagelaboratory work, without restricting the classroom to a fixed bootharrangement. While the isolation and other advantages provided by boothsare obtained, the room may be used for normal instruction, or for a homeroom, by simply lowering a hood, and it is a primary object of ourinvention to provide the foregoing in a desk having means retarding thelowering movement of the hood thereby to avoid accidental injury to thestudent manipulating the same.

Another object of this invention is to provide a convertible desk forlanguage teaching and the like having a hood movable between normal deskand language booth positions, and incorporating means automaticallyenclosing the desk storage compartment containing the headset,microphone and other language teaching equipment when the desk is innormal use.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a convertible deskfor language teaching and the like having a hood movable between raisedand lowered positions, and incorporating a latch mechanism for retainingthe hood in its raised position, together with stop means limitingmovement of the latch mechanism in a manner avoiding jamming and marringof the hood.

In one aspect thereof, a convertible desk for language teaching and thelike constructed in accordance with our invention is characterized bythe provision of a desk having a top and a forwardly opening storagecompartment below the top, a hood mounted on the desk for movement.

between raised and lowered positions relative thereto, the hood having aback wall, opposite side walls and a top panel extending forwardly fromthe back wall between the side walls, the hood back and side wallsextending upwardly from the back and opposite sides of the desk top whenthe hood is in its raised poistion, thereby defining a booth, and thehood back wall extending across the desk top with the hood panelextending downwardly across the storage compartment of the desk toenclose the same when the hood is in its lowered position.

In another aspect thereof, a convertible desk for language teaching andthe like constructed in accordance with our invention is characterizedby the provision of a desk having a top, a hood mounted on the desk formovement between raised and lowered positions relative thereto, the hoodhaving a back and opposite side walls extending upwardly from the backand opposite sides of the desk top when the hood is in its raisedposition, the hood back wall extending across the desk top when the hoodis in its lowered position, and means extending between the desk and thehood and retarding movement of the hood to its lowered position.

The foregoing and other objects, advantages and characterizing featuresof the convertible desk of our invention will become clearly apparentfrom the ensuing detailed description of one, presently preferred,illustrative embodiment thereof, considered in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings illustrating the same wherein like Patented Oct.12, 1965 reference numerals denote like parts throughout the variousviews and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of a desk of our invention, with thehood in its raised position, and with the desk legs broken away forconvenience in illustration;

FIG. 2 is a front perspective view thereof;

FIG. 3 is a top plan view thereof, with the hood in its loweredposition;

FIG. 4 is a front elevational view thereof, with the hood in its loweredposition;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view thereof, with the hood in its loweredposition, illustrating in phantom the raised position of the hood;

FIG. 6 is a rear elevational view thereof;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged, fragmentary, detail view of that portion of FIG.1 which is enclosed within the circle denoted 7;

FIG. 8 is a fragmentary side elevational view, on the same scale as FIG.7, showing the motion retarding means;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary, bottom plan view of the latch mechanism, takenabout on line 9-9 of FIG. 7; and

FIG. 10 is a bottom perspective view illustrating the closing action ofthe hood.

Referring in detail to the illustrative embodiment of our inventiondepicted in the accompanying drawings, it will be seen that there isprovided a hood 1 and a desk 2. The desk is formed to provide acompartment 3 having top, bottom, side and rear walls, but open at itsfront, comprising for example a conventional book compartment positionedbeneath the desk top 4. The desk is supported on a pair of legs 5 whichare shown as being of the pedestal type, although the particular form ofthe legs 5 and the compartment 3 does not affect our invention.

Hood '1 is pivoted on desk 2, by a hinge 6 having one leaf secured tothe desk top 4 and its other leaf secured to the back wall 7 of hood 1.The hood also is provided with a pair of opposite side walls 8 and apanel 9 extending forwardly from back wall 7, between side walls 8, andforming a top wall when the hood is in its raised position, shown inFIGS. 1 and 2.

Hood 1 is adapted to be swung between a lowered position, for normaluse, and a raised position for language use, as illustrated in FIG. 5.When in its raised position, it will be seen from FIGS. 1 and 2 that thehood side walls 8, back wall 7 and top wall 9 form, in conjunction withdesk top 4, a booth providing the proper acoustical and psychologicalisolation found to be desirable for language instruction in a languagelaboratory. The side walls 8 can be provided with panels 10 ofacoustical material, such as a urethane foam covered by perforatedmetal, not shown, or any suitable material. The corn partment 3 canhouse the amplifier and other controls, used in conjunction withlanguage teaching, and can provide a housing for a headset, amicrophone, and the like. Desk top 4 provides a working surface when thehood 1 is in its raised position.

The hood 1 is positively held in its raised position, by a pair ofpivoted latches 11 mounted on plates 12 secured to the underside of desktop 4, at opposite sides thereof. Latches 11 pivot about a vertical axisbetween the full line, latching position thereof shown in FIGS. 7, 8 and9, and the release or unlatching position thereof shovm in full lines inFIG. 10 and in phantom in FIG. 9. The student merely raises the hood,and pivots latches 11 outwardly to engage in notches 13 which can beprovided in each of the opposite side walls 8 of hood 1. While notches13 can be eliminated, particularly when stops 14 are provided, they dolock the latches in latching position.

It has been found that there is a tendency for students to move thelatches 11 too far forwardly, beyond their latching position, and ifthis is done the hood can jam and the edges of the hood side walls areapt to be marred and damaged by t-he latches when the hood is lowered.This is particularly disturbing where the hood is provided with aformica or similar type of surface, the edges of which can be marred ifthey strike latches 11 when the same extend along instead of across thesides 8.

To prevent this, a pair of stops 14 are mounted, one on each side wall8, to depend therefrom at a point intercepting latches 11 just beyondthe normal latching position thereof, as illustrated in phantom in FIG.9. The bottom edge of hood back wall 7 is recessed, as indicated in FIG.3, and abuts desk top 4 to limit the opening or raising movement of thehood. Latches 11 and stops 14 are so arranged that the stops willintercept the latches when the hood is in its fully raised position, thehood then settling back slightly as the latches are received in notches13.

When the hood 1 is swung to its lowered position, it will be seen thatback Wall 7 extends across the desk top 4 to provide the writingsurface, and that the isolation booth effect provided by hood 1 in itsraised position is completely removed. Thus, there is no encumbrancebetween the teacher and a pupil seated at the desk, whereby the desk canbe used in the manner of a normal desk.

In addition, top wall panel 9 of hood 1 extends downwardly across theopen front of compartment 3, to enclose the equipment stored therein.This prevents tampering with the equipment, and avoids the distractionwhich such equipment otherwise might present when the desk is in normalclassroom use.

To control movement of hood 1, and avoid the undesired possibility ofaccidentally pinching the students fingers or otherwise causing physicalharm as the hood is lowered, motion retarding means are provided. In theillustrated embodiment, such means are provided on each side of thedesk, and comprise in each instance a channel 15 mounted on the desks asby screws 15', and containing a slider 16. A link arm 17 is pivotallyconnected at one end to slider 16, and at its opposite end to a plate 18fastened inside hood 1 at a point offset from hinge 6.

As hood 1 is swung from its raised position to its lowered position,plates 18 are swung in a counter-clockwise direction, in the illustratedembodiment, rearwardly and upwardly about the pivot axis of hinge 6.This retracts the sliders 16, which have a friction engagement with theside walls of the channels 15, and which thereby resist and retardmovement of hood 1. The frictional engagement of each slider 16 with itschannel can be adjusted, by a rotating screw 19 to move a pair ofclamping plates 21.

Each slider 16 comprises a friction element 20, of rubber or othersuitable material, sandwiched between a pair of plates 21 arranged to bemoved toward or away from each other by rotating a bolt 19 which extendsthrough the outer plate 21 and through element 20 into threadedengagement with the inner plate 21. Rotating bolt 19 to move plates 21toward each other compresses element 20 into tighter engagement with thechannel walls, while rotation of bolt 19 in the opposite directionrelieves the frictional engagement therebetween.

The frictional engagement between sliders 16 and channels 15 can bevaried, to adjust the motion retarding force, and if desired these partscan be arranged to support hood 1 in any intermediate position. Also,because arms 17 move closer to the pivot axis of hinge 6 as the hood islowered, the effective resisting force increases as the hood is'lowered,offsetting and exceed ing any increase in the effective lowering forceproduced by the weight of the hood.

Accordingly, it is seen that our invention fully accomplishes itsintended objects. .While we have disclosed and described only oneembodiment, that has been done by way of illustration only, withoutthought of limitation.

Having fully disclosed and completely described our invention, togetherwith its mode of'operation, what we claim as new is:

1. A convertible desk for language teaching and the like comprising, incombination with a desk having a top, a hood hingedly mounted on saiddesk for movement between raised and lowered positions relative thereto,said hood having a back and opposite side walls extending upwardly fromthe back and opposite sides of said top when said hood is in said raisedposition, said hood back wall extending across said top when said hoodis in said lowered position, and means operable during lowering movementof said hood to said lowered position to retard such movement, whereinsaid last-named means comprise a generally horizontal guide channelcarried by said desk on a side thereof, a slider movable along saidchannel in frictional engagement therewith, and an arm pivotallyconnected adjacent one end to said hood .and adjacent its opposite endto said slider, and wherein said arm is pivoted to said hood indownwardly offset relation to the axis. of movement of said hood whensaid hood is in said raised position, said arm moving toward said axisupon lowering said hood.

2. A convertible desk for language teaching and the like as set forth inclaim 1, together with means for selectively varying 'the frictionalengagement between said slider and said guide channel.

3. A convertible desk as set forth in claim 1, wherein said hood backwall abuts said top to limit raising movement of said hood.

4. A convertible desk as set forth in claim 1 wherein said desk has aforwardly opening storage compartment below said top, said hood having atop panel extending forwardly from said back wall between said sideWalls, said panel extending downwardly across said compartment toenclose the same when said hood is in said lowered position.

5. A convertible desk as set forth in claim 1, together with releasablelock means for holding said hood in said raised position, said lockmeans comprising a latch pivoted on said desk for movement into and outof locking position beneath one of said hood side walls when said hoodis in said raised position.

6. A convertible desk as set forth in claim 5, together with stop meanscarried by said one side wall for blocking movement of said latch belondsaid locking position.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 367,616 8/87 Gray16-172 406,840 7/89 Jones 217-60 1,424,531 8/ 22 Turbeville 312-884 X1,532,239 4/25 Fauser 217-60 X 1,929,551 10/33 Hamilton 312-208 X2,115,656 4/38 Thompson 217-60 2,671,002 3/54 White 312-255 2,943,9017/60 Eaton 312-284 X 3,085,843 4/63 Mallina 312-196 X FRANK B. SHERRY,Primary Examiner.

CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS, Examiner.

1. A CONVERTIBLE DESK FOR LANGUAGE TEACHING AND THE LIKE COMPRISING, INCOMBINATION WITH A DESK HAVING A TOP, A HOOK HINGEDLY MOUNTED ON SAIDDESK FOR MOVEMENT BETWEEN RAISED AND LOWERED POSITIONS RELATIVE THERETO,SAID HOOD HAVING A BACK AND OPPOSITE SIDE WALLS EXTENDING UPWARDLY FROMTHE BACK AND OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID TOP WHEN SAID HOOD IS IN SAID RAISEDPOSITION, SAID HOOD BACK WALL EXTENDING ACROSS SAID TOP WHEN SAID HOODIS IN SAID LOWERED POSITION, AND MEANS OPERABLE DURING LOWERING MOVEMENTOF SAID HOOD TO SAID LOWERED POSITION TO RETARD SUCH MOVEMENT, WHEREINSAID LAST-NAMED MEANS COMPRISE A GENERALLY HORIZONTAL GUIDE CHANNELCARRIED BY SAID DESK ON A SIDE THEREOF, A SLIDER MOVABLE